About Us

Project 20/20 is a convening project, focused on facilitating connections between groups and individuals working to improve the Battle Creek area. Our mission is: Working together, we champion ideas and initiatives that move this community toward excellence. We exist to create a coalition of groups and individuals who are connected, coordinated, mutually supportive and working toward the greater good. All of Project 20/20’s efforts promote the vision, which is: People choose to live, work and invest in the Battle Creek area.

Mission

Working together, we champion ideas and initiatives that move this community toward excellence.

Vision

People choose to live, work and invest in the Battle Creek Area.

Core Values

Respect for individuality/support for community

Ownership of outcomes

Local leadership

Diversity

Results-driven action

Boundary-spanning initiatives

Promoting business, education, health, leisure & service

Background

In April 2006, a loose coalition of community members found we had a common concern. Dedicated citizens were working on the same pressing issues year after year. They wanted to make things better.

It was agreed that a lot of good work was getting done. There were lots of strong leaders, many of them producing intended outcomes, and the community had several generous foundations helping.

Still, the health indicators were extremely low, the educational indicators were low-to-average for a town of our size and make-up, and Battle Creek was not considered “world-class” in quality of life. There appeared to be too many groups doing things without knowing each other’s goals and strategies, and without making sure projects were successful.

There was a desire to pull together a unified network, a group of creative problem solvers, people who can look at the community holistically to accomplish results.

Scope of Work

We are a boundary-spanning coalition to champion ideas and initiatives that move this community toward excellence. We follow when appropriate, support when appropriate, and lead when appropriate.

We are a core network of people that know each other so well and love this community so much that we are be able to mobilize to accomplish any worthwhile task. Groups find our mission and norms true and motivating, and help when needed.

We respect each other, tell each other the truth, insist on looking at things from many perspectives, and work together until quality decisions were made. We then mobilize to make sure those decisions were implemented, and if possible, are successful. If they are not successful, we learn from our mistakes, then decide again.

Strategy

It is recognized that you do not change community behavior and norms overnight. The mission is, therefore, broken into three distinct phases. They are:

Phase I: Getting on the Same Page

Create a membership of individuals and organizations who contribute to making things happen at the change level; bring people from the periphery; create inclusive, porous, and energetic groups needed to make real differences in the community, establishing norms and structures for working together. The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation describes this phase as “building public capital.”

Phase II: Moving the Levers

Take the input gathered as we get on the same page and make decisions on which levers we have the energy, influence, and resources to move. Plan carefully and execute effectively.

Phase III: Changing the Outcomes

Evaluate the effectiveness of our actions, monitor vital outcomes, adjust levers if necessary, ensure gains are continued, reassess and plan for the future.

Reporting & Progress

Since June of 2008, Project 20/20 has been working to inform, engage and connect the Battle Creek area. Our progress report, which was derived from a grant evaluation for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, provides an overview of our accomplishments for the past two years. The report includes a background on Project 20/20, outlines goals and describes meetings and activities. To view the report, please click 2008 – 2010 Project 20/20 Progress Report.

In the fall of 2010, Project 20/20 Members were asked to complete a survey about Community Forums, fund development and communications strategies. To view a summary of the survey results, please click 2010 Member Survey Results.

In the summer of 2015, Project 20/20 asked a segment of their members (364 people) to complete a short survey with intent to use the information to inform next steps. To view a letter to members and survey summary, please click on the following links – 2015 Letter to Members and 2015 Member Survey Summary Results.